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This invention pertains to the field of vehicle location, and more specifically to the use of satellite technology to aid a driver in finding his/her parked vehicle when the driver has forgotten the location of his/her parked vehicle as in the case of a vehicle parked in a crowded parking lot.
From time to time, most people have had the unpleasant experience of forgetting where they parked their vehicle; those with impaired memory from age or disease are particularly susceptible. Not only is wandering around a parking lot looking for a car unpleasant, it may also be dangerous as most people in this situation are preoccupied and therefore more vulnerable to attack by predatory individuals.
The art of locating vehicles in general has been greatly enhanced with the advent of the Global Positioning System (GPS). With regard to vehicle location, general uses of GPS technology include the recovery of stolen vehicles, vehicle tracking by companies with large fleets of trucks for routing purposes, and various kinds of investigative work. For these purposes, a GPS device onboard the vehicle retrieves GPS signals from at least three orbiting GPS satellites. These GPS signals are converted into location coordinates that are either stored in the GPS device""s memory or transmitted to a base station via radio, cellular or paging technology. The base station then determines the vehicle""s location by plotting the coordinates on a map either manually or on a computer mapping system. GPS devices used as such are cumbersome, require considerably more technology than the preferred embodiment of this invention, and are not intended for use as a handheld locating device for the objectives as disclosed herein.
Many GPS devices are coming onto the market for the purpose of personal navigation. Although a personal navigation system could be used to find one""s vehicle, it would require the driver to manually retrieve GPS location coordinates for the parked vehicle prior to leaving the vehicle""s immediate proximity. This is a significant disadvantage, as the driver would have to remember to bring the GPS device on every outing as well as to manually retrieve location coordinates every time the vehicle is parked. Other disadvantages of these devices are that they are expensive and too bulky to fit comfortably into a man""s trousers pocket.
For the main purpose of this inventionxe2x80x94aiding a driver to find his/her vehicle as in the case of the driver forgetting the location within a crowded parking lot of his/her vehiclexe2x80x94prior art has concentrated mostly on either radio signal directional finders as demonstrated by U.S. Pat. No. 5,606,325 (1997) and visual and/or audible signaling devices attached to the vehicle and generally triggered remotely by radio signal as demonstrated by U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,246,314 (2001) and 6,239,701 (2001).
With regard to radio signal directional finders developed for the purpose of locating a car in a crowded parking lot, the most significant disadvantages are distorted signals due to obstructions such as surrounding vehicles and or buildings, the reliability of the signal over long distances, and the size and physical nature of the portable devices and their directional antennas. Few people would use a bulky system to avoid the inconvenience of forgetting the location of their parked vehicle.
With regard to signaling devices, it seems obvious that such devices have inherent weaknesses, including difficulty seeing the signaling device from long distances (the greater the distance, the higher the signaling device must be), buildings and other obstructions that could block a visual sighting, the difficulty of determining direction from sound especially for those with hearing impairment and, of course, the embarrassment of calling attention to the fact that you""ve lost your car.
Accordingly, the main objective of this invention is to aid a driver in finding his/her vehicle as in the case of a vehicle having been parked in a crowded parking lot. The invention, in its preferred embodiment, comprises a small, handheld apparatus that contains a GPS receiver. At the time the vehicle is first parked, the GPS receiver retrieves location coordinates for the parked vehicle without prompting from the driver and stores those location coordinates in the apparatus"" memory. At the time the driver activates the apparatus for the purpose of locating his/her vehicle, the GPS receiver retrieves location coordinates for the driver""s current location. The present invention, using formulas well known to those skilled in the art, calculates a straight course between the driver and his/her parked vehicle. The course is then presented on the apparatus"" visual display as a xe2x80x9cfloatingxe2x80x9d directional arrow pointing from the driver""s current location toward his/her parked vehicle.
Another object of this invention is to remind a driver on what floor he/she has parked a vehicle within a multi-story parking garage by including in the Vehicle Locating Apparatus a simple electronic counting switch that, when manually depressed by the driver, increases the number stored in the apparatus"" memory by one integer until the corresponding floor number is achieved, the floor number being available for display when later requested by the driver.
Another object of the invention is to be smaller and more compact than standard GPS devices used for personal navigation. The preferred embodiment is a device small enough to be attached to a key chain with dimensions similar to a typical key chain automobile alarm activator.
And still another object of this invention is that a driver may use his/her vehicle as a starting point when journeying on foot into unfamiliar territory. This invention, by way of visual display, presents the direction by which the driver may safely return to his/her vehicle without incurring the expense of more elaborate (and bulky) personal navigation systems.